74 years old Kadoma granny burnt beyond recognition in failed attempt to save family garden
By Staff Reporter
AN elderly woman from Kadoma was burnt to death while attempting to douse a veld fire that had engulfed her family garden.
Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Mashonaland West provincial spokesperson, Inspector lan Kohwera confirmed the incident.
“I confirm a sad incident in which 74-year-old Caritus Muchatibaya was burnt beyond recognition by a veld fire at Silverstar Village 2 Turf, Kadoma.
“The woman was amongst villagers who were putting off veld fire which started in their village grazing lands on 28 July 2024 at around 1500 hours. The villagers initially managed to put off the fire and went back to their residences.
“Moments later, the fire started again and Muchatibaya’s garden was almost burning prompting her and some close relatives rushing to put off the fire.
“When she went to her garden entrance, suddenly a wave of the fire engulfed her. She was burnt beyond recognition,” said Kohwera.
Fellow villagers were reportedly advised and rushed to assist but could not save her.
A police report was made at ZRP Turf who attended the scene and conveyed the body to a local parlour for postmortem.
Kohwera expressed sadness over the incident and called upon members of the public to be cautious when dealing with fire.
“This is a sad incident which happened while people were in a process of fulfilling a community responsibility. Though people have an obligation to put off veld fires, police would like to urge communities to have fire committees in place. Such committees must avoid including the elderly since they are prone to be victims as they cannot match with speeds of veld fires.
“The public are also reminded that starting uncontrolled fire is an offence and anyone found doing so will face the full wrath of law,” the police spokesperson added.
